Changing Face of America

Changing Face of America. ​Research on Immigration, Diversity, and Intergroup Relations: America is often described as a land of immigrants. While the majority of U.S. citizens can trace their recent family histories to other countries, there has been a long history of opposition to immigration (Diaz, Saenz, & Kwan, 2011). Surprisingly, we know relatively little about the specific ways that members of the host country perceive these immigrant groups. Consequently, the STEPP Lab focuses on how different immigrant groups are perceived and whether these perceptions depend, in part, on the group in question and the perceiver’s own backgrounds and ideologies. In related we examine issues surrounding diversity and intergroup relations more broadly. For instance, we investigate the overarching question of how the racial makeup of college students’ friendship networks impacts how their peers will perceive them on dimensions of competence and sociability.